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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/26561026">Coffee and Couture</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReneeDekobora2042/pseuds/ReneeDekobora2042'>ReneeDekobora2042</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>No Straight Roads (Video Game)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A small mention of self harm, Art, Coffee, Crossdressing, F/M, Fashion &amp; Couture, Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Healthy Relationships, Language of Flowers, Lots of tears, Self Harm, Sewing, date, it's so cute, pretty clothing</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-09-20</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-06 09:35:01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>General Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>4,450</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/26561026</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/ReneeDekobora2042/pseuds/ReneeDekobora2042</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Zuke meets up with Eve in Dreamfever to talk and reminisce about the past. But it's not a date of course. Just two friends meeting up.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Eve | Nadia &amp; Zuke (No Straight Roads), Eve | Nadia/Zuke (No Straight Roads), ZukEve, Zuke/Eve, Zuke/Nadia</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>7</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>59</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Coffee and Couture</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>Even if Zuke was quite knowledgeable with the fine arts, that didn’t stop him from getting lost in Dreamfever anytime he visited. There were too many stairs that led this way and that way, corridors with optical illusions that would seemingly lead to dead ends, and far too many pieces of art for him to keep count of. It reminded him of M.C Esher’s relativity; the feeling of getting somewhere, but nowhere at the same time.</p>
<p>He sighed, rubbing his temple with frustration. He grabbed his phone from his back pocket; the time flashed up as 1:56PM. He had four minutes to find this café in the maze-like structure of the district. Which was easier said than done, obviously. He had been sent a map, but the drawing was in an abstract art piece, and no matter how long he stared at the picture days before now, it never seemed to make sense. He figured he could fluke it; figure it out when he got there. He might have been mistaken.</p>
<p>Accepting defeat, he unlocked his phone and flicked it to the contacts tab where he pressed a name. He brought the phone to his ear, listening to the rings. After a little while, he heard a voice over the line.</p>
<p>“Hello?” It answered in a regal tone.</p>
<p> He responded. “Eve… I’m lost. Help.”</p>
<p>Eve burst into laughter, Zuke moving the phone away from his ear to lessen the ridicule he was receiving. Her laughs were cheery and effervescent; her refined self ever present, even when she was in hysterics. She calmed down to just a soft giggle and responded with “I sent you a picture of the map! How are you lost?”</p>
<p>“Look, it’s a big place okay? I don’t exactly spend all my time here like you do.” This was true. He spent most of his time at Festival Plaza since it had the best burgers and the most accessible venues for Bunkbed Junction. Now that he mentioned it, he wasn’t sure if they have ever played in this district yet. Sure, Eve had invited himself and Mayday to art exhibitions from time to time (Mayday liked the pretty colours, even if she never understood the pieces), but they were usually escorted there by another artist. Although, it was a little embarrassing to admit, but he was the one to agree to meet in Dreamfever; he only had himself to blame. </p>
<p>“Where are you right now? What are you near?” She asked.</p>
<p>Zuke looked at his surroundings. On one side was a large oil painted tapestry; the imagery being vague, but displaying what appeared to be a hand holding a flaming heart. Or that’s what Zuke saw in it anyway. On his other side he saw a statue that appeared to be… maybe a cute cow? It had been a while since he properly studied an art piece. He relayed his findings to her.</p>
<p>“I’m near the hand holding a heart and a cute cow.”</p>
<p>His words received another small laugh from the diva. “I had not thought about it being a cute cow. How intriguing. Perhaps that is something I should consider for my next piece. But you are right near the café. There should be some stairs leading upwards with a lift at the top. It is surrounded by topiary so you should not be able to miss it.”</p>
<p>He stared at the stairs nearby. They looked fake, like they had been drawn onto the wall; another art piece in the ever-growing gallery of a district. There wasn’t any way that these were the stairs she was suggesting, he thought. But then he stepped to his right, and the shapes took form, the rectangles and odd triangles twisting together to reveal - like Eve said – a set of stairs. </p>
<p>He sighed, giving his thanks to the artist and hanging up. He began the climb, his journey upwards revealing the lustrous topiary garden and the lift Eve spoke of. The bushes and shrubbery were modelled all kinds of different shapes varying from masterfully sculpted figures of Eve, to simple spirals. The forestry led towards a gold-lined lift with ivory delicately dropping from its roof. Without hesitation, he stepped into the lift, pressing a button on the side to signal to the lift that he wished to go to a specific floor. The doors closed and the whirring of the electrics began, the artistic box rising from the ground and to the open roof café that Eve spoke so highly of. </p>
<p>A mirror was situated on one of the walls. As he waited to reach his destination, he examined his reflection; checking his teeth, his hair, his clothes, his breathe. It wasn’t a date, but that didn’t mean he couldn’t look his best for Eve. They were old friends after all. Even if things did go sour, that didn’t change the current moment they were in. They were both different people now, Zuke reminded himself. Just look at what the two of them had accomplished; Eve was a big shot NSR artist with her own district, living her dream of being an artist and being with somewhat like-minded people. And Zuke had started a band with his best friend, his music reaching and inspiring too many people for him to count. Heck, he almost brought down a whole organisation with his music! He didn’t predict himself doing that when he was studying for a degree.</p>
<p>The lift pinged, announcing that he had arrived where he needed to go. The doors opened, and with one last quick glance into the mirror, he stepped into the open roof café.</p>
<p>The first smell hit him like an aromatic wave in the ocean, the stench of coffee, tea and a variety of sweet-smelling syrups blending together to form a delicious and mouth-watering atmosphere. The café itself was just as creative and artsy as the rest of Dreamfever, while still incorporating simple and rustic elements of most small-town cafés. For starters, it wasn’t as colourful as the walls and streets Zuke had just walked on, sticking to a basic colour scheme of light browns, oranges and greys, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t a sight to behold, with the rudimentary colours swirled expertly together in murals and sophisticated architecture that were sprinkled throughout the layout of the roof. Alongside the pieces were wooden tables and chairs with white tablecloths softly draped over the tops, a lit candle and gardenia flowers in small stone vases situated in the centre of them all. Zuke felt it was very down to earth, and very unlike the high fashion and latest trends personality that the district was so known for. It made him comfortable to be in something that felt less bold and adventurous. He felt like he could relax, which was good considering the moment he saw Eve sat in the far corner sipping a steaming cup of coffee, his heart rate accelerated.</p>
<p>She was dressed as fashionable as ever in an off the shoulder black and white dress which parted below her waist to reveal a slender pink leg wearing a gold heel. She accessorised accordingly; gold bangles wrapped around her arms, and long gold fringe earrings swaying from her ears. Her golden-orange hair was collected into a bun on top of her head with black and white kanzashi sticks keeping the hairstyle together; besides from two small pieces either side that framed her face. She had done her makeup for the occasion: black winged eyeliner magnifying her pale blue eyes, a gold eyeshadow shimmering on her eyelids and small diamonds placed from the corner of her eye and down to her blush dabbed cheeks. She looked stunning.</p>
<p>Eve placed down her coffee and glanced towards the entrance of the café to see Zuke motionless and staring awkwardly at her with a blush over his face. She waved at him with a smile, causing the drummer to come back to his senses and make his way over to her. As he approached, he noticed the flowers in their vase were different from the rest; a bunch of red tulips sitting in the water of the stone vase. He assumed the café had done it at Eve’s request.</p>
<p>Eve got up from her chair to greet him, going for a kiss on his cheek. Zuke, clearly unprepared, had gone in for a hug, leading to an awkward moment of shuffling and apologies from the two of them and a lasting embarrassment. After a beat, they settle for a hug; Zuke’s arms wrapped around her slim waist and Eve’s arms wrapped around Zuke’s torso. She was much taller than him, especially with heels on, and sometimes Zuke forgot just how much taller she was. They parted after an uncomfortable amount of time hugging and took their seats at the table. Eve motioned for a waiter to come to their table and one promptly arrived with a notebook. The waiter took their orders, along with Eve’s empty cup and left, leaving the two of them alone to talk.</p>
<p>“So… this is a nice place. Did you design it?” Zuke asked, struggling to hold eye contact.</p>
<p>Eve shook her head. “No, a fellow designer did. I merely reviewed the plans and allowed them to place it in the district. Their work is quite spectacular.” </p>
<p>A pause settled between the two, Zuke tapping his fingers on his legs before breaking the silence. “It seems strange for something like this to be in the district.” He made fists to stop his nervous habit. “The rest of the district has a kinda modern feel to it, but this place isn’t like that.” Zuke looked around the room, trying to avoid meeting Eve’s eyes. “This café is just what I would expect from any other café.”</p>
<p>Eve smiled sweetly. “I agree, it is not what is typically in Dreamfever…” She looked down to her hands on the table. “However, the design, the style and the lack of modernity… I couldn’t help but think back to college; before everything changed and we parted ways.”</p>
<p>The admission startled Zuke. To think mere moments ago he was thinking about the past, and here Eve was bringing it up. She waved her hand in dismissal. “Sorry, forget about what I just said. I’m sure you didn’t come here to discuss what has happened.”</p>
<p>Zuke voiced his disagreement, reaching a hand over to her own and comforting her. “No, its fine. I think it might be best to talk about it. Get it out of our systems and all. We can’t change for the future if we don’t acknowledge the past. And if we’re going to be working together as artists, I think getting rid of any awkwardness is a good idea.”</p>
<p>The waiter arrived with their drinks on a tray, placing them down onto the table in front of each of them respectively. Eve had ordered another Iced latte; with a gold flakes and cinnamon skilfully assorted to from a picture of a rose on the drink’s surface; Zuke had ordered hot and milky teh tarik, not wanting to take the risk with the other drinks from fear of not liking them. They each took a sip of their drink, the liquid soothing and refreshing down their throats, and bringing a sense of ease to the moment. </p>
<p>Eve placed her drink down onto the saucer and sighed. “Well… I’m not sure where to start then…” She paused. “Perhaps we can discuss our mistakes first, get them out the way.” She stared at her reflection in the light brown beverage. “I know we both made some bad mistakes before we left college.”</p>
<p>Zuke looked at the diva with sympathy. She said that they both made mistakes, but if anyone was at fault, it was him. He had ditched her when she needed him most. He could remember it clear as day: She was suffering from body dysphoria and was stressed beyond reason with her work. The last half of the college term was the hardest thing she had to face, constantly staying up late, breaking into tears, and worse of all, harming herself. He had managed to calm her down every now and then, supporting her through it all either by getting her something nice or by just being nearby in case she needed him. But he didn’t stay close to her. He didn’t stay by her. He was scared he would have to support her for the rest of their time together. He was scared of doing something wrong. So he left her just like that; no break up text, no excuses; not even a conversation about it. Zuke could only imagine how she must have felt. And here she was saying that she had done something wrong.</p>
<p>“Eve… You have nothing to apologise for… You did nothing wrong…” </p>
<p>She sighed. “You say that but… I can’t help but feel I pushed you away… I put so much on you as a partner, and you deserved none of it. They were my problems, not yours…”</p>
<p>Zuke leant across the table to hold her hand, the sudden contact causing Eve to look at him with surprise, revealing the small tears that were rolling down her cheeks. He spoke to her with sincerity and compassion. “You’re should never be alone in the problems you face. That’s what I did wrong. I abandoned you when you needed someone to talk to.” He began to rub the back of her hand gently. “Of course, you should never take the baggage you put onto someone too far, but your fear of hurting someone out ways what people are willing to do for you. You just have to find someone that cares… and I’m sorry I couldn’t be that person for you back then.” He locked eyes with her, steeling his emotions. “But I’m willing to do it now, if you’ll allow me to.”</p>
<p>The tears welled up in her eyes and spilled out onto her face, eyeliner trailing off with her tears. She chocked up, sobs escaping her delicate lips. Zuke felt her hand ball into a fist under his, so continued to rub her knuckles, letting her get anything out. He could see that his words had hit her hard, the reality of the past coming back to her. Eve was strong, both in the physical and mental sense. Sure, she was the strongest artist behind Tatiana, and people saw her as a figurehead in society, but she was also strong to keep fighting through everything; through Zuke’s betrayal, her loneliness afterwards and anything she had faced in the time in between. To still fight for what she aspired to be, and all her aspirations and dreams… that’s what made her the strongest person Zuke had ever known.</p>
<p>Zuke handed her a nearby napkin, his other hand still caressing her fingers. She took it and delicately dabbed her face, trying to keep as much of her makeup on as possible. After a few moments, she gathered herself together, wiping away the few remaining tears. She sighed, then looked at Zuke through blurry eyes, a small smile gracing her lips. It warmed Zukes heart to see it, like it was the first true smile her had seen from her for so long.</p>
<p>Eve dabbed her nose with the napkin, letting out a few remaining sniffles as she did. She then glanced around the café, realisation setting in her face. “Oh my, this is embarrassing…” She turned back to Zuke. “Perhaps we should finish up here and go somewhere less in the public eye.” She gripped her cup again and brought it to her lips, Zuke watching as her throat swallowed down the hot liquid with style and sophistication. Once her realised her was staring, he too began to drink, pretending like he hadn’t just been mystified by her. He reminded himself that this wasn’t a date, even if the tulips on the table, the lit candle, her being dressed beautifully, and the implication that they were going to somewhere private spurred on the thought of it.</p>
<p>They payed for the drinks – Zuke offered to pay for it all, even if Eve had more money than him – gathered their things and left the café, leaving the sweet aromas behind them. Zuke was rather glad that Eve was with him this time since there was less chance of getting lost in the confusion of Dreamfever, although he was a little annoyed at the fans and fashionistas who would attempt to get a picture or start a conversation with her; she wasn’t in the best of mindsets for fan interaction, trying to hurry across the marble walkways of the district to reach their destination. Wherever their destination was.</p>
<p>After walking for a while down alleys and side roads, they eventually turned upon a building very similar to every other structure around it. It was the metallic white colour like everything else, but with a large pink shutter for its door and huge windows looking down on them from the first floor. He glanced towards Eve confused. “This is where you wanted to go?”</p>
<p>She nodded her head, pulling out a small key from a pocket in her dress and bending down to insert it into the shutter. It turned and clicked, leading to Eve placing her hands under the metal and lifting it up. The door unveiled a garage filled with shelves of paint and clay and other art supplies of various variety. It was a mess, but a controlled one, with paint sprawled across the floor and on the walls, more than likely because of flicks and drips from projects that Eve had worked on in there.</p>
<p>She motioned for Zuke to follow her, taking him up some stairs in the back and to the first floor. The first floor was similar to the bottom - a controlled mess – except this time it was fabrics instead of paint, the ground littered with mannequins adorned with all different styles of clothing. Along one side of the room rows of equipment such as sewing machines and overlockers were decorating desks and counters, power cables snaking their way along the floor to the plugs in the wall. Across from those were changing screens with pieces of clothing draped over the top, next to a small make-shift photo studio that consisted of a large white backdrop and a camera on a tripod. It reminded him of Eve’s studio back in college except on a larger scale.</p>
<p>Zuke glanced around the room, admiring everything in it. “I take it you work here?”</p>
<p>Eve moved towards one of the mannequins in the room and began to remove the clothing that sat on it. “Yes. This is my private studio. I come here when I want to be alone with my work.” She took the outfit into her hands and walked behind one of the dressing screens. Zuke watched as the dress she was wearing was flung over the edge of the screen, the sound of shuffling clothing coming from behind it. Zuke covered his eyes out of embarrassment. After a few moments, she emerged from behind the screen wearing a new outfit: a knee length dress made from different sewn together pieces of fabric; a beautiful mismatch of polka dot, stripes, and silk. Zuke’s mouth was agape, admiring the dress as it moulded around her curves. He cleared his throat, bringing him back to his senses.</p>
<p>Eve smiled. “I also come here to play around with some of the outfits I make, it allows me to bring my chakra back together; bring my body to peace.” She grabbed some clothes from over top of the screen, and walked over to Zuke, handing them to him. “Why don’t you try?”</p>
<p>Zuke glanced at the pile he was handed. “Uh… fashion isn’t my thing…” </p>
<p>Eve waved a hand of dismissal. “Nonsense, you don’t have to interested in something to try it.” She stepped behind him and started to push him towards the screen. “Give it a go. It doesn’t hurt to try new things.” She giggled and sauntered off, leaving Zuke behind the screen. Dressing up fancy wasn’t his forte. He much preferred to wear casual clothes as it was more freeing and easier to move around him; It helped with his movements for drumming. However, Eve seemed pretty happy at the idea of him dressing up with her, and she was right; it didn’t hurt to try it. </p>
<p>Zuke took his clothes off, starting with his jacket and shirt, standing topless and hidden behind the divider. He knew Eve wasn’t the type to peek so felt comfortable doing so. Besides, it wasn’t like she hadn’t seen him topless before; the times they would meet in his dorm room would mostly lead to something happening, whether that meant the two of them making out with her soft hands trailing down his chest, and her tender lips caressing his own with his hand running through her silky hair and-</p>
<p>Yeah. His body was getting flustered. He should probably stop thinking about it.</p>
<p>He removed his shoes and stepped out of his trousers, standing there in just his underwear, shivering. He had only just realised that the studio was freezing cold, goose bumps forming on his arms. He reached to the outfit Eve had handed him, pausing when he unfurled the fabric. “Umm… Eve? Are you sure you gave me the correct outfit? This is uhh…”</p>
<p>Eve regal voiced echoed from over the other side of the room, a small laugh being stifled behind her words. “Yes. I am certain I handed you the correct outfit. I picked it out specifically for you in mind.”</p>
<p>He listened to her words, then looked back at the clothing in his hands. It dawned on him why it was this that she chose for him. Ah, very well. If it made her happy, he would stoop himself to wearing something so… wrong for him. With a sigh, he slipped the outfit on, sliding his head through the many layers of fabric, and pushing his arms through the holes where they were supposed to go. Once it was securely on, he smoothed out the creases and shifted the clothing so it fit on him nicely. It annoyingly fit perfectly, like Eve had made it for him, the shape of it showing over his muscular structure and sitting in all the right places. For all he knew, she might have made it for him.</p>
<p>“Are you ready?” He asked. Eve responded with “Hold on!” taking a chair from one of the counters and placing it in the centre of the room. She sat on it, crossing her legs and announcing with little giggles of expectation. “Okay! I’m ready!”</p>
<p>Begrudgingly, Zuke stepped out from behind the screen, revealing his latest style to Eve, whose hand rose to her mouth to stifle the laughs. Zuke looked beautiful, like a Disney princess; bright pink ruffled flowing dress hanging daintily on his shoulders. It had every imaginable trope of a girly dress with bows, ribbons, lace and fringing all mixed together to make this pink explosion of fabric. It was a little low cut, the lack of chest tissue making it sink on his chest to reveal his body hair, but if anything, that made the outfit more complete. If he had a crown or a tiara, I’m sure he would be the fairest boy in all the land. </p>
<p>Zuke really wanted to sell it for Eve, so he twirled a few times, the skirt half floating gracefully up a little from the gesture, revealing his legs that completely contrasted with the femininity of the ball gown. It caused Eve to have an outburst of laughter, no longer being able to keep the hilarity of the moment inside her. She did have to admit, he looked very handsome in a dress. But then again, she thought he looked handsome in any kind of garment.</p>
<p>The male princess struggled over to a long wall mirror and admired himself, blushing but equally as amused as his diva friend. “I do have to admit, as embarrassing as this is, this is very comfortable.”</p>
<p>Eve giggled and made her way over to him, bending down to fiddle with a few pieces of the dress. “I agree, dresses are very cosy to wear; I’m uncertain why everyone doesn’t wear them.” She moved her hands to his shoulder to adjust the straps, fingertips gracing his arms. After pause of silence, Eve spoke up. “Thank you, Zuke.”</p>
<p>He shook his head. “I mean, I just put on a dress. You hardly have to thank me for it.”</p>
<p>She chuckled, a smile gracing her lips. “No silly, for saying that you’ll be there for me.” She brought her eyes down. “It makes me feel like… like I can gain some closure for what happened.” She ran her eyes over the dress once again. “Although the dress is also amusing.”</p>
<p>Zuke smiled along with her, bringing a hand up to grace her face and rub her cheek. “I promise I wont ever leave you again. I know that was wrong, and I’m going to make sure that you’re never alone in anything you do.” He contemplated his words. “It’s… not the same as before… but I do care for you. I don’t like the idea of you being hurt.” His admission ran around in his head for a while, fear of rejection settling in his stomach. He was surprised to feel Eve’s hand placed over top of his; her warms fingers lacing between his own. </p>
<p>Eve locked eyes with Zuke, small tears of happiness rolling down her face. She spoke throughs sobs and a smile: “Even after you left me Zuke, I always cared for you… we might not meet the same level of affection, but that doesn’t change the seeds we can sow for a new relationship; friend or otherwise.” </p>
<p>Her admission was music to his ears. She was right, Zuke wasn’t sure if he wanted a life-long friend or something more, but whatever they turned out to be, they’ll care for the other through everything. In response to her words, Zuke brought her face closer to his and grazed her cheek with a soft kiss. It made both their hearts flutter like butterflies; like they had just escaped out of their past cocoons and were flying right into a new life for the both of them. Their mistakes were behind them now, they could only change their future for the better.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>“So hey, can I get out of this dress now?”</p>
<p>Eve giggled. “Sure, let’s get you out of there.”</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>I hope you enjoyed this fluffiness! I plan to write more one shots in the future, so please tell me what you thought about this one! Comments help me to stay motivated and make me enjoying writing!</p>
<p>If you enjoyed this, I have an ongoing fic called "The Road to Redemption". Please check it out!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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